Allison expands hybrid transmission technology to commercial vehicles

Indianapolis. Allison Transmission is expanding its hybrid transmission technology to commercial vehicles with its new H 3000 hybrid propulsion system. The new transmission was unveiled at the National Truck Equipment Assn.’s Work Truck Show this week.

The new product is targeted for medium- and heavy-duty trucks in distribution, refuse, utility and shuttle applications, Allison said.

“We’re thrilled to bring Allison’s world-renowned reliability, durability and technical expertise to a new hybrid product for our commercial truck and bus customers,” said Laurie Tuttle, vice president of hybrid programs for Allison Transmission.

The fully-automatic parallel hybrid-propulsion system is based on the Allison 3000 Series transmission which is matched with hybrid system components, including a motor-generator, power electronics and lithium-ion cell battery packs. According to Allison, the transmission is scalable to each application and the modular lithium-ion battery packs enable an optimal amount of energy capacity to be tailored to a specific vehicle or duty cycle, allowing for greater flexibility and performance.

“We began pioneering hybrid technology in 1989 and, since 2003, have delivered more than 5,000 hybrid-propulsion systems for the transit bus market,” said Tuttle. “With the launch of the new H 3000, we’ll now provide this technology for a much wider range of vehicles.”

The system works by capturing otherwise wasted energy during vehicle braking and uses it to assist in vehicle propulsion and powering of auxiliary equipment. The design features a torque converter fully-automatic transmission and a hybrid motor-generator.

Since the system is built with Allison’s fully-automatic 3000 Series, it provides smooth, uninterrupted power to the wheels, the company said. The H 3000 will also come equipped with Allison’s latest generation of electronic controls which offer a variety of features to further improve productivity and efficiency.

Depending on vocation and duty cycle, the system is designed to offer fuel savings of up to 25%. Production is expected to begin later this year.